Hubble Space Telescope charge coupled device
- Made:
- c. 1990
Hubble Space Telescope charge coupled device (CCD) as used in Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Wide Field Camera
This CCD was used in the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) for the Servicing Mission 4 (SM4), the fifth and final servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.
WFC3 is a combined ultraviolet, visible and infrared camera that dramatically extends Hubble’s ability to image astronomical objects. With its 16 megapixel, high sensitivity, low noise array this camera is helping hubble view the invisible, look further back in time and spot objects incredibly far away.
WFC3's infrared channel is a notable asset, allowing astronomers to observe objects that have no visible light and peering through huge interstellar dust clouds - gaining fame for its images of huge clouds of dust and gas.
As of 2016, radiation damage to the CCD is becoming increasingly evident, causing a loss in charge-transfer efficiency (CTE).
Details
- Category:
- Space Technology
- Object Number:
- L2007-4033
- Materials:
- silicon, aluminium (metal), copper (metal) and glass
- type:
- spacecraft, detectors and charged couple devices (ccds)
- credit:
- Teledyne Technologies
